Spamblocker

Spamblocker Features Summary

UAB's Spamblocker service protects all users of Central Exchange and all @uab.edu email addresses. The following is a brief summary of the features provided by this service. For more information, please refer to the Spamblocker User Instructions.

The Spamblocker service classifies messages as "Adult Spam," "Definite Spam," "Possible Spam," or "Not Spam". All users are protected from spam on a default level preset by the Information Security department. If users choose to do so, they can select one of the three other policy settings. The Aggressive policy automatically deletes "Adult Spam" and "Definite Spam", while "Possible Spam" is sent to quarantine and "Not Spam" is sent to the user's inbox. The Cautious Plus (same as the Default policy) policy automatically deletes "Adult Spam", while "Definite Spam" and "Possible Spam" are sent to quarantine and "Not Spam is sent to the user's inbox. The Cautious policy sends "Adult Spam", "Definite Spam" and "Possible Spam" to quarantine, while "Not Spam" is sent to the user's inbox. User can choose to opt out altogether, allowing all messages of any classification to be sent to their inbox. All policies and their affect on spam are summarized in the chart below:

Spam Results

Policy

Adult Spam

Definite Spam

Possible Spam

Not Spam

Default*

Discarded

Discarded

Quarantined

Inbox

Aggressive

Discarded

Discarded

Quarantined

Inbox

Cautious Plus

Discarded

Quarantined

Quarantined

Inbox

Cautious

Quarantined

Quarantined

Quarantined

Inbox

None

Inbox

Inbox

Inbox

Inbox

*The "Default" policy is equivalent to the "Agressive" policy.

The following is a list of new spam blocking features, and a brief description:

Digest Email - Users will receive a daily email digest listing all emails being held in Quarantine from the previous day. It will appear in their inbox from the address 'spamblocker@uab.edu'. If ignored, quarantined messages will be automatically deleted after 7 days. *Note: If the user does not wish to receive the digest daily, there is an option to turn off this feature. The following actions can be taken from the digest email:

View a message that is sent to Quarantine. The user will be prompted to log into the Spamblocker program prior to viewing the message.

Release a message from Quarantine and send to the user's inbox.

Safelist a message if a user chooses to add a sender to the Safe Senders List. The system will then recognize the address as safe and forward any future emails from this address to the user's inbox.

Not Spam allows the system to recognize that the message is legitimate, and comparable messages sent in the future should not be marked as spam.

Request a New End User Digest allows users to receive an updated copy of their digest.

Request a Safe/Blocked Senders List allows users to receive a message listing email addresses and domains that are in their Safe Senders List and Blocked Senders List.

Manage My Account takes the user to the Spamblocker login screen where they can log in to manage their lists, profile and quarantine.

Lists - From this section, users can view and manage their Safe Senders List and Blocked Senders List. Lists give the user the additional functionality of managing email from specific email addresses. To view either of the lists, click the link in the left side navigation bar on the User Account screen. From both the Safe Senders List and Blocked Senders List, the user can take the following actions:

Logout - Logs users out of their Spamblocker account.

New - Allows users to enter an address to be added to a list.

Edit - Allows users to edit a selected sender's email address.

Delete - Allows users to delete the selected email addresses from a list.

Lists - Helpful functions that allow users to Select All of the email addresses, Unselect All of the email address, Request Digest be emailed to them or Refresh the Quarantine list view.

Profiles (Spam Blocking Policies) - From this section, users can edit their Settings and Account. To view either of these, click the link in the left side navigation bar on the User Account screen.

Settings allows users to change functions in Spamblocker that will effect what email is blocked and the receipt of a daily digest. *Note: Users only need to take action if they wish to change their default settings. Users may perform the following functions:

Send digest with new messages in my Spamblocker - End User Digest - The default setting is that users will receive an End User Digest daily each morning. If the user does not wish to receive the digest, they should deselect this option and select Save to finalize.

Send digest even when I have no messges in my Spamblocker - End User Digest - By default, users will not receive an End User Digest if no emails have been classified as spam during the previous day. If the user wishes to receive a digest even though there are no new spam emails, they should choose this option and select Save to finalize.

Preferred Language - The default language is English. If the user wants to change the language, they should choose the appropriate language and select Save to finalize.

What type of spam detection do you want? Please select a policy from the list below. - Users are initially set to the Default policy. Users do have the option to switch policies. If users change the current policy, they must select Save to finalize.

Account allows users to see which of their email aliases are being protected by Spamblocker. If you have an account that is not listed, please contact AskIT by email, or phone at 205-996-5555. The user may perform the following functions:

Logout - Logs users out of their Spamblocker account.

Lists - Helpful functions that allow users to Request Digest be emailed to them, or Refresh the displayed list.